Changing places

• Place


  Very abstract and broad term within Geography with multiple definitions. These definitions can include the geographical location of somewhere on a map or the characteristics, both human and physical, that can be attached to it. Place can also be about human emotion and attachment, including responses to new and old places. It is subjective, yet multidimensional.
• Three aspects of place

  Location, locale and sense of place
• Location


  The geographical point or area in which a place is situated such as the proximity to other places, its latitude and longitude, the region it is situated and the land topography and geology of the area. Also includes the position of a place on league tables such as house price data and demographic breakdowns.
• Locale


  How the people, cultures and customs shape a place and how it affects the social, economic, environmental and political character of the location. This could include landmarks, shops and architecture which give a place a uniqueness or events that have occurred in the place.
• Sense of place


  This is the emotional, sentimental and subjective attachment that someone has to a place. This could involve core memories, judgements and opinions to a place. As the sense of place is completely subjective, one person's sense of place is completely different to the next, making sense of place truly unique and bespoke from one person to the next.
• Three theoretical approaches to place

  Descriptive, social constructionist, phenomenological approach
• Descriptive approach


  The idea that the world is a set of places and each place can be studied and is distinct, unique.
• Social constructionist approach


  Sees place as a product of a particular set of social processes occurring at a particular time. Places can originally be built and used for one purpose socially, but over time the socially constructed views of the place can adapt and evolve, changing the culture of the place through time into a potentially different social purpose.
• Phenomenological approach


  This involves a personal attachment and a personal sense of place between humans and the place they are in. This bond of humans to place is how we get to know places through personal perception and personal attachment. It is all dependent on the degree of attachment, involvement and concern that shapes the critical understanding of place.
• Identity


  All about the sense of place a person has with a place, and how this sense of place shapes them as a person.
• Localism


  The affection or emotional ownership of a place, taking pride, can also result in NIMBYism.
• Regionalism


  Consciousness and loyalty to a region with a population that shares broad similarities.
• Nationalism


  A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country and the country's broad set of ideals.
• NIMBYism


  Used to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them.
• Globalisation


  The increasing integration of economies and societies around the world particularly through international trade, can result in an erosion of identity and a homogenised culture where there is a sense of placelessness.
• Localisation


  A greater focus on 'local' place and the promotion of local goods and services in order to resist the forces of globalisation.
• Belonging


  Membership in a group with a strong emotional connection based on affinity, loyalty, and identification.
• Factors that affect belonging

  Age, sexuality, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, faith.
• Well-being


  A positive state that includes striving for optimal health and life satisfaction, the trendiness of the place and the quality of the life of its residents. Is unique and subjective.
• Quantitative data


  Data associated with mathematical models and statistical techniques used to analyse spatial location and association.
• Qualitative data


  Data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interviews, empirical observations, or the interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and other archives such as case studies.
• Experienced place


  Places we have been to and developed our own sense of place, deeper understanding and true nature, emotional attachment, change previous perceptions.
• Media place


  Places we have formed a perception of based on what we see in the media, makes world seem smaller, more understanding of world. However, reality of the place could be far off what it is like as a media place.
• Glocalisation


  A term used to describe products, services or infrastructure that are distributed globally but which are fashioned to appeal to the consumers in a local market, in order to resist the forces of globalisation.
• Endogenous


  Characteristics of the place itself or factors which have originated internally. It affects the character of a place from within the place, these are the local and internal characters of the place. They can include aspects of the site or land where the place is built and the availability of resources where the place is built. It is a combination of natural and cultural features in the landscape and generally includes the people who occupy the place.
• Exogenous


  External factor that influences a place. These factors tend to be more relevant and more important in today's age with the diminishing of internal factors. These influences on the locale and identity of a place have an external origin and can sometimes clash with endogenous factors.
• 8 endogenous factors


  Socioeconomic Factors: Employment opportunities, amenities (Useful things), education opportunities, income, health, crime rates and societies.

  Cultural Factors: Heritage, religion, language

  Population mobility for work and leisure

  Political Factors: Role and strength of councils, resident groups

  Built environment: Land use, age and type of housing, building density, building materials

  Location: Urban or rural, proximity to other settlements, main roads and physical features such as rivers and the coast.

  Demographics: Population size, age, structure and ethnicity

  Physical Geography: Relief, altitude, aspect, drainage, soil and rock type.
• Exogenous Factors


  Links to other places: Routeways, movement to other places, the accessibility of a place, increasing mobility and improvement of transport infrastructure and links.

  Deindustrialisation, unemployment, economic structuring, urban decline, movement of industries such as manufacturing to other places or overseas.

  Challenges of globalisation, particularly in towns which focus on mining, steel and shipbuilding where other distinct places are in direct competition.

  'Newcomers', arriving in an area where there could be conflict or a change in character of the community where the community has to adapt to the change, this is particularly the case through urban planning where new homes have to be built, second home purchasing or gentrification (Rich buying and developing areas, yet displacing the more poorer people)

  International migration, people moving from all around the world settling in the UK. In an ideal world, there would be an assimilation of these cultures and a celebration of multiculturalism. Can also include diasporas and communities formed. London is a good example, as there are Chinese, Korean and South Asian communities all living alongside one another.
• Homogenised place


  Socially, economically and culturally identical to other places with a deficit in uniqueness. They often feature chain stores, infrastructure that is designed by the same people as other places, therefore making it look identical, and identical road networks and transport infrastructure.
• Clone Town


  A term used to describe urban retail areas such as high streets and shopping centres dominated by national, and in some cases international chain stores.
• Placelessness


  Loss of uniqueness, locale and sense of place in the sociocultural landscape so that one place looks like the next
• Sophisticates


  A person with much worldly experience and knowledge of fashion and culture
• Mature money


  Ability to use your money for long term planning, budgeting, saving and investing for the future.
• Agents of change


  These are the people who impact on a place whether through living, working or trying to improve that place. Examples would include residents, community groups, corporate entities, central and local government and the media
• Placemaking


  Process of creating quality places that people want to live, work and do leisure in. It involves expressing culture within the physical world that the place is located in such as religion, language, traditions or personal values. Can occur in any area that humanity has built something, no matter how big or small.
• Demographics


  The characteristics and balance of a population with respect to age, race, and gender.
• Insider


  Someone who feels a sense of belonging and attachment to a place, and who shares a common identity with other people who may also consider themselves insiders to the place. 'To be inside a place is to belong to it and identify with it and the more profoundly you are, the stronger is the identity of the place' - Relph 1976
• Meaning


  The individual or collective perceptions of place, what do people view the location, locale and sense of place as and what do they think of the place?
• Representation


  How a place is portrayed and seen in society. How does the place appear to you and what do you know about the place, what is it famous for and what is it notorious for. What efforts have been done by agents of change to influence how the place is seen.
• Place memory


  Perception of a place held by an individual or a group of people. This meaning can change over time. This can be linked closely to place attachment, the ability of a place to make the history of that place come to life in the present